If you’re after an easy and rewarding knitting project, you might fancy this tutorial over on Tuts+ for a colour-blocked cotton baby blanket. Created by talented Seattle-based knitter Andi Satterlund from Untangling Knots, the blanket is knitted from corner to corner, increasing until you reach the widest point and then decreasing back down to create a square.
I love getting a first look at homewares collections, and nothing has got me more excited than Freedom‘s fresh and super-pretty line-up for Australian summer, 2014.
As many of you know, we are currently renovating our house, and just like all of you who have attempted home renovations, it’s not a cheap or relaxing business.
So my heart starting beating a wee bit faster when I first glimpsed Freedom’s new collection. I’ve spotted some really beautiful pieces that are exactly what I’m looking for – at really affordable prices. Which is the key, right?
I’m talking Danish-inspired dining tables and chairs, stunning timber and metal industrial pendant shades, woven textiles, graphic statement rugs, sorbet pastel-toned handmade vases and the world’s best collection of baskets. All I can say is: toy storage. I raided my local Freedom store earlier this year for their gorgeous two-toned baskets, and I can see that I’m going to have to go back and stock up.
Anyway, enjoy this first look at what’s in store for our Australian summer this year at Freedom.
Kinloch dining table $699, Kinloch dining bench $299, Brandon dining chair in white $159, Creel pendant $99, dinnerware from $6.95 and Moore vessel, $69.95. Photography courtesy of Freedom.
Hermitage 3 seat leather sofa $3299, Coutt side table double ring in walnut $349, Castaway Decorative Oars $89 each, Ukulele cushion $34.95, Tied up cushion $29.95, Hula cushion $34.95, Pier rope floor lamp, $379, Bennett floor rug $349. Photography courtesy of Freedom.
Cast off pendant $149, Millicent dining chair in oak and yellow $149. Photography courtesy of Freedom.
New collection pieces will be arriving in store and online at Freedom weekly.
Tell me, which new pieces are taking your fancy at Freedom?
Following on from yesterday’s birdy pick of the week, I couldn’t resist showing you some more amazing critter-themed desk accessories. I know, it’s not ground-breaking stuff but the news has been so utterly depressing lately that I feel the need for a distraction.
Enter the irresistible otter tape dispenser (thanks Pip from Meet Me at Mike’s for the tip) and a rather handsome grasshopper stapler. Here’s proof that there’s more than one way to make filling out your tax return slightly more interesting.
And why put a bird on it when you can have an otter? Or a grasshopper, hippo or rhino… just click the images to go through to the original source to buy.
Streamline Alma otter tape dispenser, $14.99.
Bird tape dispenser, AU$17.44.
Elephant masking tape holder, AU$26.05
Bianca Memo and Pen Holder, €16.
Cat wooden tape dispenser, AU$17.16.
Anthropologie grasshopper stapler, £16.
Rhinoceros masking tape holder, AU$26.09.
Anthropologie dachshund letter holder, £28.
Memo-saurus desk organizer, $12.99.
Squirrel wooden dispenser, AU$17.44.
Suck UK Quack tape dispenser, €20.
Anthropologie dalmatian stapler, £20.
I love the grasshopper stapler the most. Tell me: which one is your favourite?
Goshballs, you’ve gotta take your hat off to Anthropologie. Someone there has been mining the work of mid-century Danish designers (why hello Kay Bojesen, Hans Bolling, Kristian Vedel and J.V. Orel) and their modernist wooden animal creations. Not a bad move, considering that Scandinavian mid-century modern design is hotter in the mainstream context than ever.
In particular, this rather handsome ‘obliging’ bird clip, pictured above, is reminiscent of the dodo from JV Orel’s ‘Zoo Line’ collection, which was originally made in Japan. Anthropologie’s bird clip is made from mango wood and is a snip at £18.
But if you covet original J.V. Orel creations, you can find some good vintage specimens on Etsy. Keep an eye on my Etsy page, which I’ll be updating with all my favourite finds, like this original Zoo Line wooden Dodo bird desk accessory, AU$99.66 (below) from A La Modern.
Big news, birdies! Firstly, I’m delighted to announce that I will now be working on Wee Birdy full-time. Hurrah! That means more posts bringing you more wee finds, amazing shops and handpicked goodness from around the globe.
Secondly, I’ve just opened my very own shop on Great.ly. Now you can actually shop all of my wee finds! If you haven’t heard about Great.ly yet, go over and have a look. If you’re a maker, you can apply to have your work stocked on the site.
I’ve joined a bunch of other global tastemakers, like Holly Becker from Decor8 and Pip Lincolne from Meet me at Mike’s, to set up my own shop. Here’s just a taste of some of the things I’ve handpicked for my shop – just click on any of the images and it will take you straight to the shop:
Linen cocktail coasters, US$30, by A Sensible Habit.
Tillandsia billy buttons DIY terrarium, US$27, by Sea & Asters.
Yellow beech wood Kokeshi doll, US$34, by Sketch Inc.
Cotton tea towel, US$22, by A Sensible Habit.
Stripe furoshiki Japanese scarf, US48, by Lucinda Newton Dunn.
‘And a cube makes 3’ necklace, US$45, by Not Tuesday.
‘Bright lights’ giclee print, US$28, by Emily Rickard.
‘Set sail’ nautical art print, US$25.50, by Rosa Pearson.
Best news? This week you can get FREE SHIPPING on Great.ly. So hop to it! The offer is open for August 11-17, 2014. You might like to check out my picks for your favourite menfolk, top picks for under $20, as well as my favourite finds for under $30. Great present ideas!
I will be adding new stock to my shop over the coming months, so make sure you bookmark it for future reference.
What do you think? Do you like Great.ly? And what would you like to see more of on Wee Birdy? Go on – please de-lurk and tell me exactly what you think! I’d love to hear from you.
Indigo prints and the ancient Japanese tie-dyeing technique of shibori is one of this season’s biggest trends. Flick through a current issue of your favourite home and interiors magazine and you’ll find actual shibori or shibori-inspired prints on countless collections of homewares, from high-end designer soft furnishings, through to the high street.
Meanwhile, shibori techniques and indigo prints have been used by fashion designers such as Stella McCartney, Dion Lee and Gabriele Colangelo in their recent collections.
But if you’re up for a session of binding and dyeing at home, you can achieve some incredible results that are just as eye-catching and unique as designer versions – but at a fraction of the cost. Plus, you get that feel-good ‘I made it myself’ buzz. Get a bunch of friends together, whip up a vat of dye, and make a day of shibori handmade fun.
Miso for Gorman collection. Photography courtesy of Gorman.
Until fairly recently, Australian label Gorman was predominantly a fashion and accessories brand, specialising in bright and bold prints, tunic frocks and clogs. I’ve been a long-time fan of Melbourne-based fashion designer Lisa Gorman’s inimitable style, ever since she sold her fledgling label at some of Melbourne’s independent boutiques in the late 1990s.
Miso for Gorman collection. Photography courtesy of Gorman.
Since then, the brand has developed into a great ambassador for Australian design, with a series of stand-alone boutiques across Australia and New Zealand.
Gorman also shown great foresight and initiative over the years, pairing up with other Australian designers and creatives, like the clever summer collaboration with Rachel Castle. The most exciting development, however, is the establishment of a permanent homewares collection called Home Time.
Gorman’s latest collaboration is with Melbourne artist Stanislava Pinchuk, also known as Miso, and the ethereal homewares collection arrived in stores and online today.
A scattering of stars as tiny pinpricks of light feature across the line-up of bed linen, throw cushions and rugs in an ethereal palette of muted greys, musk and white, with the addition of on-trend metallic foils and glitter.
The star product, however, is a very limited run of 20 delicate porcelain candle domes, made in collaboration with Connie Lichti, which feature hand-drilled holes that make up a constellation of stars.
This week’s birdy pick comes all the way from Canada, where Etsy sellers Studioliscious create ‘house birds’ inspired by the designs of mid-century illustrator Charley Harper.
Each bird is cut from high-grade Baltic Birch plywood, and the design is then applied using an image transfer method. This results in slight imperfections to the printed image which adds to the handmade charm of each piece. The design is applied to both sides of the cut-out so the birds can face any direction.
Disclaimer: I’m proud to be an Etsy Tastemaker (hurrah!) and I hand-picked these lovely birds for my Etsy Tastemaker page. If you buy a bird (or something equally delightful) from the Wee Birdy Tastemaker’s Etsy page, I will receive a small commission fee. (And it will help me find you more great things!) Please note that I only blog about things I really, really like, and think you should also know about. Editorial is based purely on merit and its ability to make me smile (exploding confetti jets optional).
It’s a really handy technique to learn, and you can use the final design to store or display pretty much anything. Head over to Tuts+ for the full step-by-step tutorial.
I’m coveting this pair of ‘birdberry’ earrings by Marc Alary for J.Crew, featuring one of my all-time favourite colour combinations: cherry red and sky blue. Inspired by the National Geographic magazines of his childhood, animals are a recurring theme throughout Alary’s fanciful jewellery creations.
I’m excited about today’s Frock on Friday, as I’ve had fashion designer Reuben Reuel’s Etsy shop De-Mes’Tiks NYC in my favourites folder for a while now, just waiting for its own dedicated blog post. As many of you will well know, I’m a huge fan of prints, so I was particularly drawn to Reul’s incredible use of dazzlingly gorgeous African prints in Holland wax cotton.
Reul explains in an interview with Design*Sponge’s Grace Bonney that these fabrics “are actually made in Holland (hence being known as Holland wax cotton fabric) and somehow were adopted by the African culture, where it is most commonly seen. This is why most people know it as ‘African Fabric.’ This article gives a great story on the origin of the print.”
I love this season’s collection of dresses, which feature a slight blouson over a nipped-in waist to create a supremely flattering and ultra-feminine silhouette. Best of all, his frocks have sleeves (I do love a good summer frock sleeve) and I love the exaggerated pussy bow neck ties. We’d usually see this design feature used with delicate colours and prim patterns, so the juxtaposition with the fabulously bold prints creates a rather pleasing detail.
The blousy cuts and waxed cotton fabric make these frocks a winner for hot and humid weather, and the dresses are available in a wide range of sizes from extra small to plus-size (26W-28W). Throw over a cardie and wear them with opaque tights in cooler weather.
Tell me: do you love a bold print? I’d love to hear from you – why not de-lurk and let me know what you think in the space below.
Disclaimer: I’m an Etsy Tastemaker and I hand-picked these lovely frocks for my Etsy Tastemaker page. If you buy a frock (or something equally delightful) from the Wee Birdy Tastemaker’s page, I will receive a small commission fee. (And it will help me find you more great things!) Please note that I only blog about things I really, really like, and think you should also know about. Editorial is based purely on merit and its ability to make me smile (exploding confetti jets optional).
Photography by Giuseppe Santamaria, Men In This Town.
Street style photography isn’t a new thing. Led by the likes of bloggers such as The Sartorialist and Garance Dore, it exploded into our collective cultural consciousness a few years ago, creating a new genre in itself and instantly hooking into our innate sense of voyeurism to showcase some of the world’s most stylish people.
Few street-style photographers, however, have focused entirely on men, and Australian men’s style, in particular, has rarely had any interest or exploration on the international stage.
Enter Giuseppe Santamaria’s new book, Men In This Town, which launched in Sydney last night. It’s a suitably handsome tome, with stunning photography and interesting profiles. Each chapter is devoted to a different city (London, Tokyo, Sydney, Milan and New York) and captures a variety of men in situ going about their (every)day.
The book provides a fascinating platform to compare and contrast the different ways dudes put their clothes together, and captures a variety of men of different ages and nationalities.
Open the book to any page and try to guess which city you’re in. It’s a fun game and Men In This City naturally invites this kind of exploration and wonderment.
As a Sydney native who has also lived in London, I immediately flicked to those chapters to see if (a) I recognised anyone (maybe) and (b) I could guess the city from what the guy was wearing. See how you go with the following four photos from the book:
How did you go? The two top photos are from Sydney, and the bottom two are from London.
Go and seek out Men In This Town and see how Sydney men stack up against the rest of the world in the style stakes. It’s also a cracker of a book for anyone interested in style, fashion and photography.
Men In This Town by Giuseppe Santamaria is published by Hardie Grant, RRP$29.95, and is available in stores nationally.
Have you seen this season’s beautifully apt new bag designs from Alphabet Bags? If the weather reports are to be believed, the UK is gearing up for a week of glorious summer sunshine (fingers crossed), while I’m basking in Sydney’s most welcome winter rays. Aaah.
Alphabet Bags are made in the UK by London-based husband and wife team Hayley and Lucas Lepola. They started with a collection of alphabet bags screenprinted on to tote bags back in 2008, and they’ve been adding new designs and collaborating with artists since then.
Check out their new line-up of travel pouches, with screenprinted messages in splendid designs and typography. The sturdy bags tick all the right boxes for the ultimate travel companion, working hard to easily double – or triple – as a casual clutch, bath bag or jewellery pouch.
The handsome new wash bags for men are equally delightful, with cheeky designs screenprinted on thick grey canvas, with black waterproof lining and a heavy duty gold metal zip with a leather zip pull.
